Touched by the Hand of Goth
by Christian
Summary: A new boy moves into town, and falls for Rogue. How will she react? Please R&R.


Disclaimer: I don't own X-men Evo, or any of the chars except Brent.

A/N: This occurs during the group's senior year.

It was your average day at Bayville High. The sun was high in the air, the air carried a hint of flowers, and Rogue was thoroughly miserable. It had been a bad day, from when she was teased by the 'cool' group in Math class, to the near catastrophe she and Kitty had caused in Home Ec.

The worst part? It was only lunchtime.

She walked to her usual lunchtime hangout, under the big oak tree on the other side of the field. She wouldn't sit with the Brotherhood, and the rest of the X-men were just too prep. Not that she didn't like them...she just needed some alone time. Living in a house with that many kids was just far too stressful. Plus, her roommate was a chatterbox, her 'brother' left blue fur in the shower drains, and the only guy she had eyes for was infatuated with someone else. Just her luck.

As she walked to her spot on what seemed an unnaturally cheerful day, she stopped dead, her brown eyes peering through the white locks in front of them. Someone was sitting in her spot! No one ever came out this far, especially not to see her. He must not know any better. As she got closer, she could see the young man polishing off what was left of a bag lunch. He had dirty blonde hair, and though she couldn't see his face, she mostly approved of his fashion sense. He was wearing a black leather jacket that seemed to absorb the sunlight around him, a pair of ripped looking jeans, and large black combat boots. He also seemed thoroughly engrossed in a book he was holding.

That is, until he looked over at her.

"Oh...sorry, is this your spot? I'm new here, and just needed a place to sit and read." He blushed slightly, obviously not the entirely social type, and must have felt incredibly awkward on his first day at a new school.

"Uh...no problem..." Stuttered Rogue, not exactly at home with social conventions either. "It's not mah place, ah just come here to get away from the crowds."

As he turned to face her, she noticed he had incredibly deep brown eyes, and the book he was reading was a copy of Goethe's Faust, a copy of which she carried in her own bag at this very moment. She smiled slightly, moving closer and taking her usual seat against the tree, pulling out her lunch and her book. He brightened when he saw that he was not the only one to feel awkward, and especially glad he wasn't the only one who disliked crowds.

"Oh, I'm being rude again. Man, I wish I had paid more attention in Kindergarten when they taught us how to make friends. I'm Brent Peters." He held out his hand tentatively, fearing inside that she would just blow him off.

Rogue smiled ever so slightly, a pleasant effect on her gothic face. She took his hand in her gloved one, and shook gently. "I'm Rogue. Well, Marie, but everyone calls me Rogue."

He smiled, letting her hand go, and visibly relaxing. He nodded slightly as he listened to her, knowing full well what it's like to be alone, even in a crowd. "Well, since I don't wanna be like everyone else, do you mind if I call you Marie?" He practically had his fingers crossed behind the pages of his book.

Rogue's smile wavered slightly, but she nodded, seeming genuinely pleased to meet a non-conformist like herself, as well as someone who knew the pain of being alone. "Sure, Ah don't mind."

Brent grinned, showing off perfectly placed teeth, obviously the result of braces when he was younger, and even Rogue had to chuckle as his pleasure was infectious. "But don't think you're special or nothin', you're just the first to ask is all."

Brent sobered up slightly, his grin still remaining as he joked. "Of course not, I wouldn't dare dream it. I'm not special, just lucky to meet a girl like you on my first day. Thanks Marie, you've made this entire move worthwhile." He smirked slightly, one side of his mouth curving upward. He looked good doing it, and Marie didn't know whether to blush or laugh.

"Ah try, well, no, actually Ah don't, but that's not the point. So, what's your story?" Rogue asked as she dug into her bag, pulling out her sandwich, and taking a bite. She looked over at him expectantly, and was not disappointed.

"Well," He said around a mouthful of food, reminding Rogue very much of Kurt at that moment. "You see, I've always been the quiet type, not comfortable in crowds, not the most social. At my old school up in Canada, I was off reading alone during lunch while everyone else was trying pot, or drinking. The majority never accepted me socially, and that is why I am like I am. As for moving down here, my dad took a better job, and my mom's is very mobile, so we moved down here for much more money. Of course, this screws me over, as I've never been good at making friends, and now I don't have any. Hence why I am out here." He shrugged slightly finishing the rest of his sandwich as Rogue did the same. "What about you? Why are you here?"

Rogue blanched, and explained very briefly how she came to be there. "Well, it's a long story, but Ah go to Xavier's School for the Gifted. It's not bad there Ah guess. But mah roommate's a chatterbox. She is such a valley girl, and Ah swear one of these days Ah'll strangle her."

Brent laughed, obviously enjoying the tale. "Gifted eh? I'm gifted too! Apparently I have an IQ of 135 or something like that. It'll be nice to hang with someone who isn't just average. I guess we have a lot in common." He smiled, his brown eyes searching hers.

"Yeah," She stuttered, thrown off by that gifted comment. He meant it completely different than she expected, but that was fine. She was idiosyncratic enough to pass for gifted, along with the rest of the students at Xavier's school. "Ah'm sure it will."

"Marie, I don't mean to be forward, but...." He looked shy all of a sudden, not quite at ease. "Could I have your number? I'd like to call you. Maybe we could do something sometime?" He looked nervous, just like any guy asking out a girl. Of course, this was Rogue he was asking. He thought he didn't have a prayer.

"Me?" Rogue squeaked, completely taken aback by the question. "Uh...sure. Ah don't see why not." She smiled, and looked around for a pen, cursing mentally that she didn't have one the one time a guy asked for her number. Suddenly, an idea popped in her head and she pulled her purple lipstick out from her pocket, and with her gloved hand, pulled up the sleeve of his leather jacket, writing her number on his arm. She smiled, as he looked completely and utterly pleased by this entire scenario. Then, the bell rang.

They both quickly gathered up their things, and took off, Brent giving her a wave and yelling, "I'll call you tonight!" Rogue could do nothing but shake her head. What a day this had been.

_**So, what did you think? I'll only continue if I hear good things, so please R&R.**_

Next chapter: Rogue's got a date?!


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